Don Melville gasped, in sheer dismay, yet he had the presence of mind
to yell:
"Scoot, Benson! Travel as fast as ever you can!"
Then Don ran a few steps in the opposite direction. Young Melville was
a very fair sprinter, but he wanted to have a bit of a start in case
of need.
"Melville, you young scoundrel, I'll settle with you later!" roared
Jacob Farnum, keeping on down the road.
Straight in the middle of the road the fugitive was now dashing along,
until Don yelled after him:
"Take to the woods, Benson! You can lose him there!"
"I'll get him, anywhere on earth!" shouted Jacob Farnum, full of purpose
and vim.
The boatbuilder was long-legged and slim. He had been a runner at
college, and now his old knack was coming back to him.
Undoubtedly the most humiliated man present was George Melville. Though
that capitalist had not been averse to stooping to the purchase of
secrets from another man's trusted employe, he felt badly indeed to have
Farnum detect his son.
So George Melville now came out quickly from cover.
"Don," he demanded, "how could Farnum ever have gotten wind of this?"
"Talk it over with Mr. Emerson," panted Don Melville. "I'm off after
Benson and Farnum."
With that Don put his own sprinting abilities to the test, dashing into
the woods at the point where he had seen the others vanish.
Though it flashed through George Melville's head that Broughton Emerson
must have given information to the rival boatbuilder, the elder Melville
did not now stop to question Mr.
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